Could I Have This Dance?
by Always Hopeful
Summary: ONE SHOT! COMPLETE! Flashes of Minerva and Albus' life together. They only danced with each other, from beginning to end!


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with Harry Potter nor do I plan to own any of it in the near future. Also, I do not own this song. It is sung by Anne Murray and I just want to say I lurv all the songs she sings! LOL! I hope you like this one shot!**

**A/N: Like I said in the disclaimer, I lurv, and I mean I LURV, all of Anne Murray's songs. At least, all the ones I've hear. And that's a lot. I just knew I had to write a story to this song, though it isn't the first of Anne Murray's songs I've thought to use as a songfic. Shoot, I still have this one Dean Martin song, though I have a lot of DM songs I want to use, that I've had in my brain for a loooong. QUICK GUYS, GIVE ME INSPIRATION TO WRITE A STORY TO "SWAY" BY DEAN MARTIN! OR AT LEAST GIVE ME ENCOURAGMENT, PLEASE! LOL! Well, without further ado, here is my next one shot, entitled…**

**Could I Have This Dance?**

The year was 1945. Albus Dumbledore had just defeated Grindlewald, and he had become a very famous wizard indeed. But today, almost a month after the whole ordeal had taken place, he was about to embark on the most dangerous mission up to date… the mission of holy matrimony!

And he wasn't getting married to just any woman, mind you. He was getting married to Minerva McGonagall, his colleague, newly made head of Gryffindor house, Transfigurations professor at Hogwarts, and, as he had just done after the defeat of his known enemy, his deputy headmistress. He had appointed her to be his deputy headmistress after she had proved herself against Grindlewald, and had shown that she lived up to the Gryffindor name when she did not let her fear go against her. She was brave, loyal, and trustworthy to the end, a true Gryffindor through and through. And now, she was to be his wife, something they had both been happy to share with their family and friends. Though, they had made it a point not to let too many people know. They did not want to be bothered with all those nagging questions and probing minds who would ask more questions than they should.

Minerva made her way slowly down the isle, never once taking her eyes off of Albus. She smiled at him, and knew, by the smile on his face and the twinkle in his eye, that she was doing the right thing. There had been many people, including her parents, who had told her that she was making a mistake by rushing into something as big as this, but she didn't listen to them. True, if it were someone else getting married, and if it were another man, then she would have probably said the same thing. But things were different with Albus. She knew he loved her and that she loved him. She also took great comfort in knowing that she knew him like the back of her hand, and, though she hated to admit it, he knew everything about her, right down to the thoughts she would have. He didn't even need special powers for that. All he had to do was to look at her face and know what she was thinking or feeling, and that was what made him so special.

As for Albus, he just couldn't seem to focus on anything that was going on around him. All he was able to focus on was Minerva, the woman he cared so much about. She seemed to be the only thing that was not a blur in the room, the only real thing. He had wondered several times that day if he was dreaming or if this was actually happening. In fact, ever since he had woken up that morning, he feared that he was dreaming. The night before, he didn't even want to go to sleep, for fear of waking up to find that it had all been a dream, and that Minerva had not really intended to marry him after all. But now that she was standing right next to him, her hand meeting his, he knew that it was, indeed, not a dream, and that she was as real as he was.

"Dearly beloved…"

Ooooooooooo

_I'll always remember the song they were playing  
The first time we danced and I knew  
As we swayed to the music and held to each other  
I fell in love with you  
_

"And now, ladies and gentlemen," said Aberforth, the best man, over everyone's heads, later at the reception, "if you would please give a warm round of applause for the bride and groom, they will now have their first dance as a married couple. Here's to you, Minerva, the light of my brother's life, and Albus, my _much older_ brother, I wish you both a world of happiness." Everyone clapped as Albus and Minerva made their way to the center of the dance area, hand in hand. When they reached the center of the area, they faced each other, poised themselves, and began to dance. The band struck up, playing the song they had chosen.

"Minerva, they're playing our song," he whispered. "Remember that night when I proposed to you? And then we danced and this song played?" Minerva nodded and smiled.

"How could I possibly forget, Albus?" she asked him. "As it started, you held out your hand to me and asked, 'Could I have for this dance?'." The song was beautiful, and neither one of them remembered that there were people watching them. It was as if they were lost in their own little world.

"And do you remember what you said?" Albus asked. Minerva nodded once more.

"Yes, Albus, I do," she replied. "I said, 'You may have this dance, Albus. For the rest of my life.'" Albus smiled and leaned in close to her ear.

"And that, my dear, is exactly what I intend…. For us to dance for the rest of our lives."

_Could I have this dance for the rest of my life?  
Would you be my partner every night?  
When we're together it feels so right?  
Could I have this dance for the rest of my life?  
_

Ooooooooooo

"I might have known you would be here, _Professor McGonagall_." Albus smiled, although he felt very sad as he called her by her formal name. He did not want to do so, but after the attack on baby Harry Potter, it was important that he try not to use her name so comfortably in public. If he did so, he might forget himself. And as he watched her transform back into her human form, he wished that they did not have to meet in the moonlight on such a dismal occasion.

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore," she said sternly. Oh, how she wished she could just run to him and collapse in his arms. The news had hit her like a ton of bricks, and she was just now getting over the shock of what had happened. Lily and James Potter were dead; killed by the most evil wizard the wizarding world had seen since Grindlewald was around. She walked to him in quick strides and was soon by his side. "Are the rumors true, Albus?"

"Yes, my dear," he whispered back. "I'm afraid they're all true; the good, as well as the bad."

"And the boy?" she asked. Albus smiled. She was so concerned about Harry, and she knew it was because she was a mother, and once a mother, always a mother. Even if their children were already grown (their daughter expecting a child of her own and a son who was doing well in Scotland), she always thought of her students as her children as well.

"Hagrid is bringing him," he replied.

"Do you really think that wise, Albus; trusting Hagrid with something that important?"

"Minerva, I trust Hagrid with my life," was his reply. Not too long afterward, Hagrid came riding down on a motorcycle he had borrowed from young Sirius Black.

Ooooooooooo

_I'll always remember that magic moment  
When I held you close to me  
As we moved together, I knew forever  
You're all I'll ever need.  
_

_Later…_

"Minerva?" He laid his hand on her shoulder, and she looked at him, tears shining in her eyes in the light of the fire. She quickly rose and threw her arms around his shoulders, her head resting on his shoulder.

"I'm so frightened, Albus," she whispered. He was now rubbing her back with one hand and stroking her hair, which was now cascading down her back, with the other. "I'm frightened for a lot of reasons. I'm frightened for Harry, for the Order, for Sirius Black… and finally, I'm frightened for us," she concluded.

"Sshh, I know, I know," cooed Albus, still rubbing her back with the one had, but leaving his other hand to rest on the back of her head. "It'll be alright in the end, you'll see." Minerva just stood there, enveloped in his arms, and cried. Then, without realizing it, they both began to sway slightly, Albus humming a soft melody which was so familiar to them.

_Could I have this dance for the rest of my life?  
Would you be my partner every night?  
When we're together it feels so right?  
Could I have this dance for the rest of my life?  
_

_"What?"_ cried Albus when he heard the news. He was currently residing in Aberforth's bar, or, rather, above it. Remus Lupin looked at him, his expression filled with pain. He knew what Albus was feeling, for he felt the pain too. Minerva had been one of the few people, when he went to school, who actually accepted him for who he was, and the thought that he might lose one of his best friends was horrible.

"I'm sorry Albus, but it happened, and no one could have stopped it. When Dolores and her evil little minions tried to storm Hagrid's hut, Minerva took it upon herself to help him. When she called out to them, they just… attacked her. Four stunners straight to the chest." Albus grew livid.

"I have to see her, I must see her," was all that he was able to say for a long time. Remus now stood in front of him and placed his hand on Albus' shoulder.

"Albus, now please calm down," he said. The lamps in the room began to flicker dangerously for several seconds before breaking, one after the other. It was now completely dark, the only light coming from the moon outside.

"What do you mean _calm down?_" exclaimed Albus. "**_My wife is harmed, and you are telling me to CALM DOWN? How can I bloody well 'calm down'?_**" He growled.

"Nothing is going to be gained by bringing down the Hog's Head," Remus called out over Albus' burst of energy due to anger. Albus tried with all his might to not let his magic get out of control. He looked around the now dark room, then, with a wave of his hand, he caused the lights to come back on.

"I have to go see her," he said. Remus sighed. He should keep Albus there with him, and not let him go out, but he knew Albus' anger, and the thought of keeping him here was too horrible. So, he nodded.

"Okay, Albus," he said. "You can go. But don't be gone too long, or someone will notice and begin to question." Albus nodded and, without another word, went to see Minerva. Remus rubbed his head as he thought, _'Molly and Rosemerta would have my head if they knew about this…"_

Ooooooooooo

Albus lay by Minerva's side, a single tear falling from his eye. He had been holding her hand for quite some time. How long it had been, he could not be sure. All he knew was that he had been there for quite a while, holding her hand and rubbing the back of it with his thumb. Suddenly, and to his great delight, her eyes fluttered open slowly.

"Mumph… Albus?" she finally managed. She looked around blurrily for a while before her eyes finally rested on him. He smiled as he stood and leaned over her.

"Yes, darling, I'm here," he said. He looked into her eyes and somehow knew that everything was going to be okay. She smiled warmly at him.

"I'm so glad you're here," she whispered. He smiled.

"You should know by now, Minerva, that as far as we're concerned, I'm still dancing," he said. Tears were now falling from her cheeks as well, and he leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips.

_Could I have this dance for the rest of my life?  
Would you be my partner every night?  
When we're together it feels so right?  
Could I have this dance for the rest of my life?_

Ooooooooooo

The news of his death seemed to hit her like a ton of bricks. It just didn't seem real to her… that is, until she saw his body. She couldn't help the tears to flow. And when Hagrid carried him down the isle, it was all she could do to not cry once more. But she had cried so much during the past few days that it just didn't seemed that she didn't have any more fluids left in her to cry.

Once all the guests left, she stared at his tomb. She went up, touched its smooth surface, feeling the cold of the marble. She felt that she could just curl up and die, or else do something horribly dramatic, such as throw herself on the cold stone. But no, she didn't. She withheld her dignity, though tears fell once more. She looked at the part of the tomb where his head was and smiled sadly.

"I want you to know, Albus," she whispered, "that I'm still dancing." With that, she patted his tomb and left, wiping her eyes in vain and trying to stop any more tears which may threaten to flow. She could not face the others looking like this. She had to remain the pillar of strength and courage, which was what all the others saw her as. But how, she pondered to herself as she quietly made her way back to the castle, could she do such a thing without him there to set an example? It was going to be hard, but she knew, deep down inside, that if she just remained strong enough, she could do so, and once she got to Heaven with him, they would dance once more.

**A/N2: Okay, I rarely, if ever, do this, but (pats back). I think this is the first ending I've enjoyed writing in a long time, even though it was really sad. I just love that last line, and I am sorry if I sound arrogant or anything, I really don't mean to, but I just can't believe that I wrote that. It's like it took on a life of its own. I'm sorry, but it did. Now is the time when you should submit your reviews and tell me what you think. Also, I would like to pitch an idea to you guys. Let me know what you would think if I combined Harry Potter with… _Phantom of the Opera_? Yes? No? I am seriously thinking of doing it. I've been thinking of doing it for such a long time, and I already have like the first two chapters written, so please tell me what you think. Please include that in your review. I love ya always, for I am - Always Hopeful -.**


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